Chaturon scraps Zone 3 tablet bid

Chaturon scraps Zone 3 tablet bid

Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng has scrapped a tablet procurement project to supply the devices to Mathayom 1 students and teachers in Zone 3 in the central and southern provinces over concerns of price rigging.

The bidding was held last month by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec).

An Obec probe, set up to look into the case, found no evidence of irregularities in the process, but the minister insisted on scrapping the procurement.

"An electronic auction in Zone 3 will be reorganised soon after the Office of the Auditor-General reports on the unfair bidding competition," he said.

Several agencies have raised questions over the bidding, saying the price per tablet was unusually high in that zone.

"The regulation states that Obec is able to revoke the bidding results if it provides no benefit to the government agency," Mr Chaturon said.

Thailand's Supreme Distribution won the bid to supply 426,683 tablets for Mathayom 1 students and teachers in Zone 3 at a cost of 2,908.42 baht per device, a rate that was 0.4% lower than the median price of 2,920 baht.

Later, the company decided to reduce its total price by 900,000 baht.

Earlier this month, Jasmine Telecom Systems won the bid to supply 402,889 tablets for Mathayom 1 students and teachers in Zone 4 at a cost of 2,169 baht apiece _ 25.72% lower than the 2,920 baht median price.

The difference between the two prices prompted suspicions the bidding in Zone 3 was unfair.

"The winning supplier has the right to file a lawsuit against us, but we have looked into the procurement regulations carefully regarding the cancellation," the minister said.

He said the Zone 3 auction was not as competitive as it should have been, when compared with the bids in other zones.

Panuwat Khantamoleekul, managing director of Supreme Distribution, said his company would not file a lawsuit following the revocation, but it would not contest the new round of bidding.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (2)